Two Boxing Title Fights Scrapped as Ramos Falls Ill and Collazo Breaks Rib
Jesus Ramos Jr. was pulled from Saturday's card with food poisoning, and Oscar Collazo's rib injury killed his October flyweight title challenge.
Boxing lost two title fights in a single day as Jesus Ramos Jr. fell ill before his Saturday card and Oscar Collazo suffered a rib injury in training, per Boxing News 24 and Bad Left Hook.
Ramos Jr., the WBC interim middleweight champion, was pulled from the Isaac Cruz vs. Nestor Bravo card in San Diego after reportedly coming down with food poisoning. His defense against long-suffering mandatory challenger Meirim Nursultanov was the most divisionally relevant fight on the DAZN broadcast, and its removal leaves the Marcial vs. Huerta opener as the card's new first bout at 8 p.m. ET.
The timing raised eyebrows. Bad Left Hook noted that Ramos "looked enormous beside Nursultanov at Thursday's final press conference" and appeared closer to super middleweight size, suggesting the weight cut was already a struggle before the illness hit. Gastrointestinal illness combined with deliberate dehydration would make completing the cut dangerous. The fight will reportedly be rescheduled, though no date has been confirmed.
Meanwhile, Oscar Collazo sustained a rib injury in training that scrapped his planned October 10 jump to flyweight to challenge WBC and WBA titleholder Ricardo Sandoval. The Golden Boy co-promoted event, headlined by Floyd Schofield Jr. vs. Lucas Bahdi, loses its most intriguing undercard attraction.
Collazo, the 105-pound titleholder, called the cancellation "only a change of date," but Golden Boy's statement did not confirm Sandoval would wait for him. No recovery timetable or replacement opponent was announced.
Two title fights gone in one day, and one of them smells a little off. I am not saying Ramos did not get food poisoning. I am saying when Bad Left Hook notes you looked enormous next to Nursultanov at the presser and closer to a super middleweight, and then the fight vanishes the day before, people are going to connect the dots. Weight cuts and stomach bugs do not mix, so pulling out was the right call for his health. It still leaves Nursultanov, who has waited forever, standing there again.
The Collazo one just hurts. A 105-pound champ jumping to flyweight to challenge Sandoval was the most interesting fight on that Golden Boy card by a mile, and a rib injury in training killed it. Collazo calling it only a change of date is optimistic. Golden Boy not confirming Sandoval will wait tells you where the leverage sits.
The boxing calendar giveth and it taketh away, usually in the same week.
